Michigan Marriage Act OK for now, but challenges expected

Rev. Gail Geisenhainer of the First Unitarian Universalist congregation of Ann Arbor addresses the crowd at a rally to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings made on gay marriage earlier in the day, Wednesday, June 26, 2013 in the Kerrytown section of Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan’s ban on gay marriage remains intact after a pair of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, though opponents may have picked up new arguments to challenge the state’s voter-approved law, experts said Wednesday. (AP Photo/AnnArbor.com, Courtney Sacco)

Michigan Republicans say two U.S. Supreme Court rulings Wednesday weren’t necessarily a complete victory for advocates of same-sex marriage, but may clear the way for challenges to Michigan’s ban on gay marriage.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said the high court’s ruling in no way invalidates a ballot amendment passed in Michigan in 2004 defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states, not the federal government, retain the constitutional authority to define marriage,” Schuette said. “Michigan’s Constitution stands and the will of the people to define marriage as between one man and one woman endures in the Great Lakes State.”

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The high court looked at two cases: The United States vs. Windsor, and Hollingsworth vs. Perry.

In striking down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the court ruled that the federal government can’t withhold benefits from married same-sex couples.

In a second ruling, the court left in place a lower court ruling that declared a ban on gay marriage in California unconstitutional without weighing in on similar bans or constitutional working of other states, including Michigan.

Republican Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson says the high court’s rulings opens the door to challenges to Michigan’s one man-one woman definition of marriage.

“I think the die has been cast,” Patterson said. “If the Supreme Court ruled that the lower court in California had it right, which threw out Proposition 8, then I think our Defense of Marriage Act in this state is probably on life support.

“I think as they’re challenged around the country, that they’ll fall like dominoes,” he said.

One Michigan case in particular can now move forward in federal court.

In March, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman held off ruling on a lawsuit by a same-sex Hazel Park couple seeking to jointly adopt three children and overturn the Michigan Marriage Amendment.

Specifically, Friedman said he wanted to hear the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court on the two cases it addressed Wednesday.

Carole Stanyar, the attorney for April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, said the U.S. Supreme Court rulings help her clients’ case.

“It bodes well,” Stanyar said Wednesday afternoon. “He said he would rule shortly after (the U.S. Supreme Court rulings). We leave it in his hands now. He has more support now if he wants to strike down the ban.”

Stanyar said there’ll be no new court date set before Friedman and that the judge will simply issue his written opinion.

Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown, a Democrat, is a party to the lawsuit by DeBoer and Rowse.

“I’m thrilled with the decisions today,” she said. “This is an historic day. Now we have to wait for Judge Friedman to lift the stay, which I hope he does soon, and bring marriage equality to everyone in Michigan.”

Within hours of the high court’s mid-morning rulings, the American Civil Liberties Union also announced a nationwide campaign to strike down barriers to the freedom to marry in states across the country.

Kary L. Moss, executive director of ACLU of Michigan, issued a statement: “While same-sex couples who are married and living in one of the 12 freedom to marry states, and the District of Columbia, will clearly be eligible for the federal protections and responsibilities afforded all other married couples, access to federal marital protections will take some work and time for those legally married same-sex couples who live in a state that discriminates against their marriages, including Michigan,” Moss said.

“The ACLU has been working for decades to secure the freedom to marry across the country. Today, we renew our commitment to this effort,” she said. “We will work tirelessly to ensure that same-sex couples can legally marry in any state.”